About me
Life can be hard, and you don't have to navigate it all alone.
Are you feeling misunderstood or worn down from trying to fit in, feeling too much or not enough, experiencing wildly fluctuating emotions or intrusive thoughts?
Or maybe you feel crippling anxiety, persistent sadness, and feel stuck?...perhaps experiencing a significant loss, a life-change, and you feel isolated, exhausted, guilty or numb?
You might be feeling life is okay, but there's a subtle sense that something isn't quite right?
However you are feeling, or whatever might have happened or is happening, I offer a space for you to explore your relationship with yourself and others, help you make sense of patterns, and perhaps remove obstacles that may be getting in your way.
My own life experiences, including being an autistic woman, late diagnosed with ADHD (AuDHD), caring for a loved one with life-limiting medical conditions, and my own personal therapy, have all inspired me to train as a psychotherapeutic counsellor. Although I work with a range of clients, I often work with Neurodivergent clients, or those who feel different or "othered" in some way.
I work integratively, drawing upon a range of counselling approaches from my training and sometimes weave in creative tools and psychoeducation. But my style and approach will be very much based on what you want and need from counselling, integrating counselling approaches, that feel best for you.
I am trauma-informed, which means I pay attention to how your body feels, as well as listening to your words, being mindful of a pace and direction that feels okay for you, and involving you in this process.
I understand how difficult it can be for people to take this first step and contact a counsellor. I'm empathetic to the difficulties people often face just trying to cope with their lives and relationships. It can be a huge relief just to be able to speak to someone who understands and can accept these thoughts and feelings. You can bring all of your different parts to therapy, including the ones you may have been taught to hide. You can swear, laugh, cry, sit in silence, or not know what you want or need; all parts of you are welcome.
I welcome people from all genders, sexualities, places of birth and spiritualities, and am passionate about anti-oppressive practices.
Training, qualifications & experience
- Master's Degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy: University of the West of England (UWE)
- BACP-accredited Training- Counselling Children and Young People Certificate
- Counselling Skills Diploma
- Mindline Listener
- Cruse Bereavement Volunteer
Before counselling, I worked as a teacher and tutor for young people with special educational needs and learning disabilities, and as a foster carer for young people with a wide range of disabilities.
I trained and volunteered for Mindline, as a call handler, where I gained a deeper understanding of a range of mental health conditions and the depths of human experience, and embarked on specialist Bereavement training with Cruse, where I learnt specific theories relating to grief and loss.
After completing a counselling skills diploma, I embarked on a Master's degree at the University of the West of England, a relational counselling training programme embedded in the person-centred, Gestalt, and psychodynamic theoretical approaches.
During this course, I attended training over several weekends, related to counselling children and young people. I offer counselling to 16-18 year-olds, in my private practice, as well as adults.
I have professional and lived understanding of the little-known but surprisingly common mental health condition of trichotillomania (chronic hair-pulling) and dermatillomania (chronic skin picking), and have carried out research relating to Body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRB's), focusing on compassionate therapeutic approaches for those who live with a BFRB.
I have found the most rewarding parts of my career to be the relationships I have built along the way and having a relational approach to counselling means that clients often gain a deeper understanding of their relationships outside of sessions.
If you feel we might be a good fit, please do get in contact; I'll listen to what feels most important to you and perhaps ask about your hopes for counselling, either through a free phone call or an introductory session. We may also explore how we might work together, and you can get a feel for if you’d like to work with me, with no judgement or pressure.
Member organisations
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
-Hospitalisation
- End-of-life care
-IVF
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Weekly sessions- £60.00,
Young people (ages 16-23)- £55.00
Fortnightly sessions- £70.00
Concessionary rates - I understand that counselling is a financial commitment, so for those on low incomes, I offer a limited number of concessionary slots. There may be a waiting list for these.
Cancellation Policy: Reimbursed if you cancel with 48 hours' notice. Sadly, I will need to charge for the session if the session is cancelled within 48 hours.
Further information
Please do get in touch if you are considering working with me via email or text, or we can arrange a phone call.
You can ask questions and explore what you want and need from counselling. I will be as honest and open with you as I can.
If you decide to book a first session with me, I will email you copies of my privacy and digital policies, as well as our working contract, which I will discuss in more detail during our first session. I will also request some basic information, such as your contact and GP details, and ask a few questions about your history so that I can better understand and support you as best I can.
Data will be stored securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act. I am a registered member of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
ACCESS:
Tuesdays-Arches Therapy Rooms (198 Cheltenham Road):Ground-floor room, wheelchair accessible. There is street parking nearby.
Wednesdays-Home Therapy Room (Weston-super-Mare): Ground-floor room with toilet facilities, both of which are wheelchair accessible.
Thursdays- Whiteladies Therapy Rooms (147 Whiteladies Road): Private side door entry and parking space at the front of the property.
